Automotive Thermoelectricity 02 - 04 December, 2013 - Dorint Pallas, Wiesbaden, Germany Website: http://bit.ly/1btt1Iy Fiat’s HeatReCar project combines the efforts and skill sets of seven partners to develop and integrate a working thermoelectric generator into a vehicle. Download the Article for free on the Automotive Thermoelectricity conference website under infocenter - check out the website: http://bit.ly/1btt1Iy The HeatReCar TEG was not designed for max electric power output, rather to achieve a wellpackaged, lightweight component providing a maximum overall energy efficiency increase at the vehicle level. Find out more: http://bit.ly/1btt1Iy

1. Case Study Fiat: The First Light
Commercial Vehicle Equipped with a
Thermoelectric Generator
Introduction
Internal combustion engines (ICE) lose up to 70% of the energy they produce, mainly through
heat. As fuel economy becomes more important for the auto industry each year and with the
passing of increasingly stringent regulations, car manufacturers have had a watchful eye on an
old concept known as the thermoelectric generator (TEG). Thermal energy which is otherwise
wasted can potentially be converted to improve the vehicle’s overall efficiency.
Fiat’s HeatReCar project combines the efforts and skill sets of seven partners to develop and
integrate a working thermoelectric generator into a vehicle.
The reference vehicle used is an IVECO Daily equipped with a 2.3l Diesel engine. The design
reference conditions are:
• Vehicle @130kph
• Exhaust gas temperature: 450°C
• Gas flow : 70g/s (max torque), 140g/s (full load)
TEG Basic Design
The HeatReCar TEG was not designed for max electric power output, rather to achieve a wellpackaged, lightweight component providing a maximum overall energy efficiency increase at
the vehicle level.
The TEG created utilized cross flow architecture with hot tubes made out of stainless steel and
cold tubes of aluminium. This design was used to simplify the connection to the fluid’s network
in the car. Material selection is very important and for this project, the group considered the
well-established composition of Tellurium, Antimony, Germanium and Silver (TAGS) as well as
segmented Bi2Te3-PTe, Skutterudites (developed and manufactured at module level), known
for their good electrical conductivity, and Bi2Te3: used for the full scale prototype
manufacturing with specific module design. The thermoelectric modules to tubes contact is
controlled through ‘tie rods’ at each TEM’s corner. A modular design was chosen for ease-of-fit
to a large scale of applications.
The constraints of the design are exhaust gas pressure drop <30 mbar, a low sensitivity to
exhaust gas fouling, limitation on the thermal heat to be rejected to avoid an unsustainable
increase on the vehicle heat rejection system.